Someones impersonating an ANN staff photographer and asking for nudes from cosplayers.

A year and a half ago Anime News Network was first informed about an individual, we'll call him “Mr. Pervert,” who was masquerading as an ANN staff member and luring cosplayers into uncomfortable situations online.

At first, Mr. Pervert would contact cosplayers on DeviantArt.com with a message like this:

Hi, I was looking at your profile and I wanted to know if you wanted to do a commission for me. I am looking for someone I can talk to on Skype about anime and cosplay. It is for an article I am doing for Anime News Network and I am paying up to $350 dollars for anyone who is willing to talk to me.

The message would come from a DeviantArt account named after our staff member (most online services, including DeviantArt, Gmail, Hotmail, etc. do not require proof of identity when naming an account).

Mr. Pervert would then slowly move the conversation to e-mail and then Skype. All the accounts would be named after our staff member. The e-mail address however is the first solid hint that Mr. Pervert is not who he claims to be. All ANN staff use @animenewsnetwork.com e-mail addresses for work purposes (freelancers however do not have @animenewsnetwork.com e-mail addresses), while Mr. Pervert has an address @gmail.com or another free provider.

During the course of the conversation, Mr. Pervert would often move the bar towards erotic cosplay and photographs; however in one case he suggested nothing of the sort but was found to be “pleasuring himself” during a Skype video call. In another case he asked a well known burlesque cosplayer if she could help him recruit under-age cosplayers for photo sessions.

Nudes from cosplayers? Well if you're nude then you can't be cosplaying. Also, is anyone stupid enough to fall for that. "hey, I work for a big tv company so get naked for me!" Yeah...sounds really legit

Also, if you know any information about this "Mr. Pervert" person or even seen him in person, you must contact police right away before contacting the ANN staff. The Internet has been ruined by being treated like a junkyard and it is all because of child pornography and other disgusting trash.